The specialized care provided at Louisville-based Norton Healthcare and Norton Children’s Hospital will now be available closer to home for Bowling Green-area residents.

Norton, a health care system with more than 40 clinics and hospitals in and around Louisville, is acquiring Bowling Green Internal Medicine and Pediatric Associates as part of the health care giant’s expansion outside of Louisville.

“It’s about taking our specialized services out into the state,” said Dr. Steve Hester, Norton’s senior vice president and chief clinical and strategy officer. “We appreciate the relationships we already have with providers in Bowling Green.

“Now we want to look at what things we can bring that aren’t already there.”

Joe Hall, public relations manager for Norton, said in an email that the company has already made “significant investments” in Bowling Green through such Norton Children’s specialty practices as heart, neurology and maternal-fetal medicine.

Adding the BGIMP group located at 615 Seventh Ave. will “bring primary care into the fold,” Hall said.

“This will allow us to further streamline care for kids in the region, as well as enhance offerings for adults seeking treatment,” he said.

BGIMP’s website lists eight providers that Hester expects to remain but perhaps be enhanced by some full-time or part-time specialists.

“We’re looking to bring those specialized services to the community,” he said. “Some (specialists) will be full-time and some will be rotating.”

Norton has a wealth of resources. According to the Business First of Louisville publication, Norton Healthcare is the Louisville area’s third largest employer, with more than 17,000 employees. It has nearly 2,000 affiliated physicians.

Its presence in Louisville includes five acute-care hospitals and a sixth (Norton West Louisville Hospital) scheduled to open later this year.

Norton is also expanding to other locales outside of Louisville. Earlier this month, it announced a new $12 million multi-practice location in Frankfort that will provide pediatrics, adult services and urgent care under one roof.

Decisions about adding personnel or expanding the 13,500-square-foot BGIMP facility will be driven by demand, Hester said.

“As demand increases, we may make some investments in the facility,” he said. “We see Bowling Green as a great community, and we want to do what we can to get specialized care closer to home.”